A sign that is sure to get people’s attention

ATHER common these are aptly-orchestrated campaigns that attract media attention and stir talks among people. It is a form of free advertisement, which benefits from people’s willingness to propagate a message.

Take this code debugging project for example. They offer beer, they offer a trip to Roumania (timely due to Halloween) and finally they receive a free advert on Slashdot and free labour to test their program. Slashdot editors, among others, fell for it…

The winning formula:

• Set up a contest
• Make the reward interesting
• 1^st prize: Get free ads
• Invite just the ‘talented’ few
• Users test program
• Hacks found and fixed
• 2^nd prize: Profit

Jeff Veen explains why the idea of invites is similar. WordPress.com takes this approach when accumulating users for a new Web service, possibly following the tactics of Google Mail. This also may prevent misuse and bad activity as I previously explained. From a commercial point-of-view, it is a disguised form of playing hard to get, though there true intentions behind it, namely quality assurance (e.g. misuse of 2 GB mail account for MP3 sharing and storage) and reliable moderation, e.g. spam flagging in Akismet, which can be tricky.

Firefox Web Developer extension (click to enlarge)

OME time in the past I mentioned my ‘Firefox essentials’ and a variety of Firefox toolbars. As it has been many months since then, I would like to list extensions and hacks which I am still pleased with.

• CSS-based ads blocker – get rid of nasty advertisements (even the ones that sometimes appear in my site)
• Mouse Gestures (particularly from Optimoz) – browse using your hand motion
• Flashblock – block Flash and permit its invocation using mouseclicks
• Googlebar – better in many respects than the Google Toolbar
• SearchStatus – highlight rel="nofollow" links in red; display PageRank and Alexa rank in the status bar; check for inclusion in the Google Directory and DMOZ
• Web Developer – the ultimate designer/debugger extension (see picture at top)
• Netcraft Toolbar – detailed and rather technical site information
• AdSense Notifier – little notifier for accumulated earnings – updated merely at real-time in the status bar

Redundant extensions that I no longer use or have disabled over time:

• FlashGot – mass downloads (can use wget instead)
• SpellBound – spellchecker in textareas (does not work consistently)
• PRGoogleBar – Googlebar with PageRank (Googlebar has evolved more though)
• Live HTTP Headers – if you are curious or develop for the Web and delve into headers-level
• A9 Toolbar – good for boosting your Alexa rank (via history log)

OUSE gestures are the means for commanding actions using movement of the mouse. The user, for example, could jiggle the mouse and/or use combinations of mouseclicks to flip from one Web page to another or insert a piece of commonly-used text such as an E-mail signature. More usefully, programs can be opened by drawing letters and numbers that menmonically characterise them.

There are free software packages for enabling mouse gestures, all of which are rather light-weight:

Linux: WayV – Supports text commands, e.g. quick insertion of names, frequently-used Web site addresses, form filling, etc. WayV supports binding to either a mouse key or a mouse combination with keyboard triggers such as SHIFT or ALT, which avoid collisions. There is no front-end for configuration of actions and gestures, yet (as of 2001).

Windows: StrokeIt – A graphical interface for configuring mouse gestures, which supports plenty of actions. A clear distance is taken from the command-line approach (as in WayV), so there is good abstraction which helps any beginner. The application, however, does not look very modern. It is said to be the ‘standard’ mouse gesture application for Windows users nonetheless.

Note that both Windows and Linux applications don’t appear to have been maintained (nor extended) for a very long time. Regardless, they still are compatible with modern desktop environments.

Firefox (cross-platform): Optimoz – One extension which I personally consider to be a Firefox essential is the Optimoz Mouse Gestures extension. It is only one among several mouse gestures extensions, of which I tried a few. Opera includes mouse gestures ‘out of the box’ and is apparently the root of browser mouse gestures.

Alternative: Keyboard accelerators – Keyboard shortcut keys (for Linux/Windows) can be quick provided that the user gets the mouse and keyboard positioning right and has memorised the key-to-program assignments. Keyboard accelerators are only one among several methods for invoking programs.

All in all, I still find use of the keyboard accelerators to be faster then mouse gestures. This is also a matter of habit.

Google determinded to pull Firefox out of the bag

Earlier today I came across this observation in Slashdot:

slashkitty writes “Google updated their AdSense service to pay publishers for referrals. What’s interesting is that now they pay publishers $1 US for each FireFox download with the Google Toolbar installed. Is this the bump that Firefox needs to boost downloads? Will Google be able to pay the millions for all the downloads?”

I am very glad that Google promote Firefox. I love Firefox and have admiration for Google, but I cannot help wondering if this becomes similar to kickbacks among Microsoft and hardware vendors. Free software is one thing. Being rewarded for using a piece of software means that deep pockets warrant prolification. This might also, under particular circumstances, lead to lock-in of data and habits.

Related item: Google Goes Firefox-Only?

HIS item is about my personal research and, in particular, its recent development and progression, which may take it in a different and exciting direction. I currently work on assessment of registration algorithms, which I have described in some depth over at MARS — my research-related publishing platform. The latest item discusses everything at a more technical level.

Below lies the diagram which describes a possible framework, which is still at its ‘propsal stage’. The ultimate aim is to provide an e-Science workbench for medical image analysis. My experiments account for a mere subset, where image/volume sequences need be aligned.

Click image for full-sized version

The memo/statement titled “Reining in Google” is becoming rather popular in cyberspace. It discusses Google’s attempt to re-write copyright laws or at least reach a point of acceptance through persistence. They have already begun scanning books in 3 large libraries despite the looming lawsuits. I recently mentioned an item which Google had posted in defence of Google Print, but has it not gone out-of-hand already?

Where is the Google that I used to know? The Google that vowed not to do evil and even considered employing me as a system administrator. I am filled with mixed emotions. Before the IPO, Google reflected on Page and Brin. It is now that lunatic Schmidt and thousands of greedy investors.

UPDATE (05/11/2005): With reference to a previous mentioning of Microsoft book scanning, it is now official. Microsoft begin digitising books as well.

S it finally turns out, a Web-based Office suite, which could be an almost unprecedented step, is embarked on by Microsoft. This comes after numerous rumours about an innovative Google Web-based Office. These rumours, which spread like a plague and rapidly made the rounds, were just as quickly shattered by Brin. Google are in fact concentrating on OpenOffice at the moment.

It is worth pointing out that Microsoft have recognised Web-based applications as a major threat to their ‘milking cows’, namely Windows and Office. Office-like Web applications exist already although they are not cohesive. Returning to Microsoft,

Kicking off what he called the “live era” of software, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said on Tuesday in the United States that the company plans to launch new Internet-based complements to its core products.

Gates said Microsoft is working on two products, “Windows Live” and “Office Live,” that create opportunities for the company to sell online subscriptions and advertising. Both are targeted at smaller businesses and consumers.

Interesting implications are worth pondering:

• Will MSIE-only compatibility be likely?
• Will non-Microsoft users be able to load Office document reliably using the Web-based equivalent?
• Will people eventually get used the the idea of adverts next to an Office document?
• How will subscription work and will it exclude certain people or be overly expensive?

Making that type of service available to anyone (i.e. without a paid licence) is suicidal. It could drive users away to platforms other than Microsoft Windows, unless of course there is a lock-in. This is why I imagine that there will be a catch. For instance, think of being permitted access to these Internet services depending on some requirements, e.g. premium features are exclusive to holders of a licence for the native version of Office.

Either way, Microsoft now open a peephole to a first glimpse, which I will of course rel="nofollow". Regardless, it looks rather appalling at the moment and is more of a placeholder, I presume. I quite like the standard-compliant clone below as it is not truly associated with Windows. It is a nice demonstration of the power of AJAX nonetheless, so I urge readers to take a look.

Windows XP in AJAX – follow the link and tune in

UPDATE: (03/11/2005) Joel re-affirms my point regarding Microsoft’s “half-baked” Web site.